ChicagoBotanic Garden
“The Hundred-Acre Wood”
Mary Mix McDonald Woods Master Plan Realization
Bike and Pedestrian Path, Trail System, and Children’s Nature Play Area
Summary
In 1994, thanks to ChicagoBotanic Garden board member and Cook County Forest Preserve Commissioner Mary Mix McDonald, the Garden acquired one hundred acres of native Illinois woodland. Since then, we have imagined a day when we could share this wonderful treasure with Garden visitors, while remaining respectful of the Woods’ fragile ecosystem and scientific importance.
Comprising one quarter of the Garden’s 385 acres, McDonald Woods is nevertheless one of the areas least visible to visitors. While the 15-acre Dixon Prairie and the mile-long Skokie River corridor are enjoyed by many and form a high-profile expanse along the Garden’s West Road, McDonald Woods is hardly known as a destination, or even as part of the Garden. Lack of a trail system through all but 11 acres, limited signage, and the Woods’ location, removed from the Garden’s Main Island, have created the sense that area is inaccessible and un-programmed.
As part of the Garden’s 10-year strategic plan, “Keep Growing,” we have committed to create new opportunities for visitors to enjoy and appreciate our “Hundred-Acre Wood.” Just as A. A. Milne and his character Christopher Robin found inspiration in their English forest in 1926, the ChicagoBotanic Garden’s “Wood” and its new series of footpaths, nature play area, and access path along Lake Cook Road, will inspire imagination and discovery for adults and children of the Chicago region today.
Background on Mary Mix McDonald Woods
Mary Mix McDonald Woods is an ecological treasure and one of the Garden’s four natural areas. Representative of forest ecosystems that historically stretched across much of the Midwest, this oak woodland complex is characterized by a diverse group of communities within its 100 acres, including mesic and wet mesic woodland, an upland forest and northern flatwoods community, an oak savannah, and wetland and prairie components. McDonald Woods is home to at least four state-listed, threatened or endangered plant species—northern cranesbill, forked aster, dwarf raspberry, and dog violet—and is a site of critical scientific research into endangered species protection and habitat restoration. Garden scientists work throughout the Woods, studying the effects of fire management and above- and below-ground species diversity, effects of exotic species (earthworms, shrubs, impact of garlic mustard on mycorrhizal fungi, buckthorn), soil microarthropods, litter-dwelling spiders, sedges in the genus Carex, and exotic invasive earthworm populations in what has been a Chicago Wilderness restoration site since 1991. Eleven acres is interpreted for visitors through signs along the 0.63-mile of woodchip-covered pathways.
As one of the largest examples of the vast oak woodland ecosystems that thrived in this region just a century ago, McDonald Woods is an historical, as well as ecological, treasure. The area contains a 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) shelter, constructed in the time of President Roosevelt and the New Deal. The CCC was one of several massive projects undertaken to revitalize the nation during the Great Depression. Roosevelt sought to recruit thousands of unemployed men, enroll them in a peace-time army, and “send them to battle against destruction and erosion of our natural resources.”[1] By the project’s conclusion in 1942, the CCC had assured the survival of most of the nation’s forests by planting an estimated three billion trees, including in what is now McDonald Woods at the ChicagoBotanic Garden.
Now, the Garden is engaged in a similar restoration effort in the Woods, battling the long-term, slow degradation of the forest by invasive species such as buckthorn and garlic mustard. Led by James F. Steffen, ChicagoBotanic Garden ecologist for over 21 years, the Garden’s goal is to restore the Woods using the most effective and efficient approaches available. Through the extensive removal of invasive species, replanting with seeds and plugs representing appropriate local native species, maintenance of nursery populations for seed production, monitoring of floral and faunal populations, and the use of prescribed fire, Garden scientists and ecologists strive to increase native plant and animal species diversity and abundance and development of a healthier, more robust native ecosystem.
Through the new “Hundred-Acre Wood” master site plan, this important place will become part of the visitor experience. The designs for an entry-structure and council ring—built in 2007—were based on the CCC shelter; the long history of restoration and management of the Woods will be interpreted through signage along the area’s new walking paths.
Pedagogical Rationale for the Project
Research shows that experiences in nature are critical to the intellectual, psychological, social, and physical development of children.[2] Learning about nature while outdoors creates intellectual curiosity and an essential understanding of nature’s value. When children are allowed to develop a connection with the natural world, they are more resilient to the stresses of modern life, more peaceful, joyful, and carefree. Green space fosters social contact and the development of meaningful human relationships and personal self-worth.[3]
Over the past decades, however, children’s distance from nature has increased dramatically. A baby born today in the United States will spend close to 91 percent of his or her lifetime indoors or in enclosed transit.[4]In urban neighborhoods, where children are most vulnerable, television and computer games often take the place of real experiences.[5] Urban soil contaminants frequently inhibit family vegetable gardens, and child obesity rates are at an all-time high, continuing to climb while children are “protected” from free, active, exploration. This loss of nature can be implicated in a number of physical and mental health issues, including possibly the increased prevalence of conditions such as attention deficit disorder. The separation from nature—and subsequent ill effects—is found not only in urban areas but also in suburban and rural children, who appear to have ready access to outdoor space. Few children now explore local woodlands and streams.[6] Growing concern over the impacts of this isolation has prompted the rise of national and grass-roots movements focused on reconnecting children with nature by providing direct experiences, education, and safe, accessible natural areas.
Academic statistics also suggest a possible correlation between children’s time spent indoors, academic performance, and interest in science. A 2008 report by the North American Association for Environmental Education states that 92% of comparisons in a study indicated that students who were taught using an environmental framework outperform their peers in standardized measures of academic achievement in reading, writing, math, social studies, and science. Most traditional schools in the United States do not or cannot employ nature-based learning, and students in this country lag behind other countries in science; a 2007 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranks U.S. students’ science performance 29th out of 57 countries in the world. This problem strikes close to home in the ChicagoPublic School system, where 77% of students fail to meet national standards in this subject.
These statistics have great implications for future generations. The vast majority of adults who describe themselves as environmentally aware can trace their interest to meaningful, positive experiences in nature as children that were supported by an adult. Most environmental scientists have fond memories of early outdoor exploration, camping, hiking, or simply playing outside at a young age and cite a love of nature as inspiration for their studies and career paths. As environmental problems become increasingly severe and threaten communities on the local and global scale, the dearth of scientists and science literacy among all segments of society only compounds the problem.
In response to these needs, the ChicagoBotanic Garden has developed a rich menu of activities for children and youth. Broad exposure programs, such as school field trips, day camps, and partnerships with Scout troops, offer large numbers of children an outdoor science learning experience. In-depth programs, such as summer science immersion courses for ChicagoPublic School students, target African American and Latino middle and high-school youth who are capable of pursuing science careers with encouragement and opportunity. Off-site programs guide youth in managing sustainable urban farms where they learn growing techniques, prepare food and present cooking demonstrations, sell produce at farmers markets, and contribute it to food pantries. These programs and others have earned the Garden the National Award for Museum Services from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Missing from all of these programs, however, is a place within the Garden for free woodland exploration—where children (and adults!) can wander, watch birds, conduct experiments, play freely, and interact with the natural world. Ironically, while the Garden is one of the treasures of the 68,000-acre Forest Preserve District of Cook County, works collaboratively with the Lake County Forest Preserves, and is a program collaborator and supporter of Ryerson Woods, we have never adopted in-depth woodland programming at our own site. With adequate funding, the Garden will realize the Mary Mix McDonald Woods master plan, which will provide 100 acres of safe, stimulating space for active learning by school, camp, and Scout groups, science programs, students of all ages and abilities, and will play a central role in the curricula of the Garden’s Center for Teaching and Learning, the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, and the joint Master’s/Ph.D. program that the Garden administers with Northwestern University.
The “Hundred-Acre Wood” Master Plan—Description of Phases
The ChicagoBotanic Garden hopes to implement the Hundred-Acre Wood master plan in three phases, described below and illustrated by the accompanying map.
Phase 1—Multi-use Path Along Lake Cook Road
The first phase of the Woods project is a .83-mile pedestrian and bicycle path that will run parallel to Lake Cook Road from the Metra North Line tracks (Braeside station), along the perimeter of Turnbull Woods, across Green Bay Road, and through McDonald Woods, to the entrance of the Chicago Botanic Garden.A preliminary design for the path has been developed to include a variety of path materials that respond to the Woods’ fragile ecosystem. Much of the 10’-wide, two-laned, center-striped path will be constructed of asphalt; the path will also include two elevated 14’-wide boardwalks over wetland areas, and a cut grade retaining wall in a particularly steep section.
The path will connect the heavily used 13-mile Forest Preserve District of Cook County North Branch Trail system that begins in Chicago and ends at the Garden’s north entrance, with the Green Bay Trail, a popular 18-mile path running from southern Wilmette to LakeBluff. The Green Bay Trail in turn connects with the Robert McClory Trail to Wisconsin. The new bike path will also connect with the region’s public transportation system, serving and encouraging intermodal transport options, including the Metra North Line train and PACE bus routes.
The path’s construction is a critical part of local, regional, and statewide plans to provide greater and safer access for bicyclists and pedestrians, while encouraging alternative “green” transportation. It is supported by citizens and leaders in immediate and surrounding communities, regional planning organizations including the Northwest Municipal Conference, cycling organizations, and state legislators.
Phase 2—Woodland Trail System
In 1999, Darrel Morrison, one of the country’s most renowned landscape architects and a modern pioneer in landscape restoration and ecological design, originated the concept of a trail system that would include an entrance shelter designed to reflect the architecture of the Civilian Conservation Corps structure that already exists in the Woods. The entrance shelter and a Jens Jensen-inspired council ring, also part of Morrison’s design, have already been built, and are popular with school, camp, and Scout groups.
The new trail system will include two new walking paths: a relatively short (.62 mile) loop, as well as a longer (1.03 mile) loop that will lead visitors deeper into the Woods. The paths will be interpreted using the Garden’s highly effective ephemeral sign system and occasional activity stations to demonstrate bird calls, animal tracks, and other woodland features. Over time, the addition of permanent or temporary works of art, seasonal decorations, or light displays could provide compelling vistas and unique moments of discovery.
Phase 3—Nature Play Area[7]
As noted above, time spent outdoors in nature is critical to children’s physical, social, and emotional development. Research also shows that while time spent outside with parents, teachers, or other adults is valuable, it is also important that children be encouraged to play on their own, to explore and simplybein nature. This unstructured time fosters creativity, emotional wellbeing, independent learning, and problem solving; it lets kids connect with the place in which they live and the larger environment on which we all depend.[8]
In the Garden’s Hundred-Acre Wood, we will give young children (ages 2 to 6) and their caregivers a unique opportunity for engaging, safe, unstructured outdoor free play in a new nature play area. Although we have not yet designed this area, the enclosed space will stimulate the five most important types of play: motor/physical play, social play, constructive play (building), fantasy play, and “games with rules.”[9] We will design the area using natural materials and the most current research on early childhood education, and will create prototypes of the activities for testing with children, teachers, and caregivers to confirm their appeal and safety.
The total budget for all three phases is $5,100,000.
Enhanced Programming
A new system of trails and a nature play area will provide Garden educators and event planners with a new canvas on which to create compelling fresh programs for all audiences. Inspired by, and perhaps in partnership with, the excellent, creative, and mission-enhancing programs at Ryerson Woods, the Garden can present programs as varied as Halloween hikes, vernal pond discovery tours, fungi hunts, botanical illustration, and full-moon walks. We can commission works of art, host Eagle Scout overnights, illuminate the woods with lanterns or imaginative seasonal displays, engage students of all ages in our conservation biology research, and host additional volunteer days for general audiences and our loyal corporate corps.
Conclusion
With agreatly expanded Woods trail system and nature area, children and families of all backgrounds and abilities will have access to a special local ecological treasure that will allow all of us to learn as we learn best: through active exploration and contemplation. School programs, educator training, and planned group activities will take place in the Woods, but this enhanced site will also provide a destination for families who want a supported way to learn together about natural ecosystems, and ways to create sustainable, green environments.
The 100-Acre Wood will serve as the platform for teaching about nature studies, science, conservation, and sustainability practices. Outdoor classrooms and areas such as the council ring and nature play area will provide dedicated spaces for classes and groups. Features developed with universal design principles will allow children with disabilities to participate freely. Most importantly, this space will teach children, families, and educators about the benefits of being outdoors and will inspire them to spend more time in nature. In the Hundred-Acre Wood, visitors will sharpen their intellectual curiosity, engage in rare moments of contemplation and fantasy, develop bonds with the natural world, and better understand the interdependence of humans and nature for the betterment of the greater community.
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[1] “History of the Civilian Conservation Corps.” The National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni,
[2] Richard Louv,Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, Algonquin Books, 2005.
[3] Villani 2001, Wals 2007).